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19 January, 2013

INTRODUCTION:

One of the largest pilgrim gathering in the world, Maha Kumb Mela takes place at four sacred Hindu destinations in the gap of four years. The four sacred destinations where conglomerate of devout Hindu pilgrims takes place are Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain. However, each destination hosts this auspicious occasion during the 12 year cycle. If the past statistics of the Kumbha Mela are anything to be believed, devotees more than 3 times of the entire population of Australian participate in this India Pilgrim tour.

MYTHOLOGICAL STORY:

There is a mythological legend, according to which, a tug of war took place between demi-gods and demons millions of years back. The reason for the battle was the nectar of immortality, obtained from the churning of the milk ocean. During the tug of war, few drops of the immortality nector spilled from the Kumbh at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik.

KUMBH MELA 2013 at Allahabad:

The Kumbh Mela is one for the world's most magnetic sights. A massive gathering of devotees, pilgrims, holy men (as Sadhu) and tourist, the Mela is one of the Hindu faith's largest and most deeply spiritual event and the 2013 edition has just started in the northern India city of Allahabad, located in the State of Uttar Pradesh.

The festival is held once in every 12 years and will run for 60 days before concluding on the night of Maha Shivaratri on 10th March; translated, this means "the night of Shiva" and marks the occasion of Shiva (one of the primary Gods in the faith) performing the primordial dance of creation, preservation and destruction.

All in all, more than 100 million people are expected to throng the banks of the Ganga, the river which occupies the holiest of spaces in the Hindu faith. The two-month long festival is also the time for traditional bathing in Ganges water, a ritualistic act that signifies the washing away of past sins and a new birth.